My husband and I just returned from a 14 night stay mostly in the BO...and it was an enormous success in large part due to all the information I have found on this forum...so thank you. We're both 70 and in very good health and hiked mostly 'difficulty 2' hikes...which turned into 6-8 miles a day of hiking and walking.
Day 1: Fly into Geneva (from Newark) and take the train to Vevey and plop down for the night at the Astra Hotel. Walk around Vevey. Have paninis and beers by the water. Two breakfasts at Le Carre (oh the pancakes!!!)
Day 2: Train (3 hours with 3 transfers) to Murren for 5 nights and stay at the newly renovated Drei Berge Hotel (Oh we loved it!). I booked early and got a corner room with magnificent views and 2 balconies. Food was amazing. Staff was darling.
walk down to Gimmelwald and train back. (Paved but a big decline downward....was a little too much for day 1. Very steep)
Day 3: * North Face trail. Honestly, not well marked but we loved it. (we weren't the only ones confused) Trail went right through the terrace of a restuarant!
Day 4: * Mountain View Hike. (I suggest reversing this and start in Gruschalp. Uphill seemed easier.)
Day 5: * Up to Schilthorn/Birg and had tea and a snack at Plz Gloria
Day 6: * Gondola to Lauterbrunner. Walk along River. Trummelbach Falls. Lunch at Horner Pub. Lift home from Lauterbrunner.
Day 7 Train to Wengen and check into Hotel Berghaus. (5 night stay)(they picked us up at train station with advance notice) We also loved Hotel Berghaus. Run by Martina, the owner, who was lovely. Another corner room with 2 balconies and lovely view across a field with mountains in the back drop. Got the half board every night and loved it! Had a beer and the nachos at Crystal Bar in Wengen. Then took the gondola to Mannlichen to look around.
Day 8 *Gondola to Männlichen. Hike to Royal Crown. Then hike down to Kleine Scheidegg. Lunch at restaurant. Hike to Wengenalp and train home.
Day 9 * Top of the World Tour....up to the Jungfrau. Loved it! It's cold up there! Had a beer and chips at the restaurant in Mannlichen. Paid 5 francs for the ride above the gondola down to Wengen and loved it. Did Rick Steves' Wengen walk after dinner and saw the chamois. They jump high!
Day 10 2 long walks around Wengen to Allmend and to Staubbachbankli with a picnic lunch with a few alpacas. There was big race going on around town which was fun.
Day 11 3 hour train ride then bus to Chexbres Villages to stay at Baron Tavernier ....THIS WAS A WONDERFUL ALTERNATIVE TO STAYING IN Montreaux or Vevey. Again, I booked early and got the junior suite (felt like a queen) with a full view of the magnificent Lake Geneva. One night we walked in town to Three Brothers for pizza. One night dinner at Le Deck. And one night drinks and snacks at the bar at Le Deck. The breakfasts there were $25 each and worth every penny.
Day 12 30 min train to Montreaux for a half day tour with Ana-Maria Mitchell (ana.mitchell81@gmail.com). She lead us through the old part of Montreaux and gave us a simple and well researched history of Montreaux. Then we walked the promenade. Stopped in at the Queen museum. And she said good-bye as we got ready to tour the Chillon Castle. She is just lovely and gave us so many interesting tidbits about the area. We really enjoyed her company. I highly recommend her.
Day 13 Train to St. Saphorin and walked around town and saw the church. Walked the vineyards. Train back to Vevey and had another panini and ate at a small picnic area right by the water...just lovely.
Day 14 Fly home
So, we decided to split our 10 nights between Murren and Wengen - 5 nights each and that worked out great for us. We had the initial 'flop night' in Vevey upon arrival. Then the last 3 nights at Baron Tavernier in Chexbres. AMAZING TRIP! Thank you all again. (Oh, and we got the 10 day BO pass)